HK media mogul denied bail in fraud case

Hong Kong, Dec 3 : Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai was denied bail on Thursday after he was charged with fraud and is likely to spend Christmas behind bars.
The West Kowloon Court charged Lai and two senior executives from Next Digital — Royston Chow and Wong Wai-keung — with defrauding a government-owned enterprise by breaching land-lease terms, the South China Morning Post newspaper said in a report.
Lai is the founder of Next Digital which publishes Apple Daily, a tabloid which is frequently critical of Hong Kong and mainland Chinese leadership.
With the next hearing expected on April 16, 2021, Lai could spend the next four months and 13 days in prison.
While Lai was denied bail, the court granted it to Chow and Wong.
The three men were arrested in August.